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Ohio colleges are urging students to consider the cost of changing majors.

Students who switch academic majors risk adding time and debt to their college careers, experts
say. But new steps at some schools aim to help students avoid that. Some colleges want students to
settle on majors sooner. At least one now requires students to visit a financial-aid adviser before
changing majors.

“In today’s academic world, if you change your major, you could lose up to a year,” said Kevin
Conlon, the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Columbus College of Art & Design.
“Even assuming that they’re college-ready, a fairly large percentage of students still don’t finish
in four years.”

Conlon crafted a plan to change that: He wants to show students at his college exactly how late
they can change majors without adding time or debt.

Starting this fall, the college promises that all students will be able to graduate in four
years as long as they don’t switch majors after their third semester. The pledge extends to four
terms if they move to a major in the same school, and five if they switch to one of several new
majors the college is developing.

Deans revised every major at the college so they share more coursework under the plan, which for
the first time allows students to declare majors as soon as they enroll. Conlon predicts that the
plan will boost the percentage of students graduating in four years, which is 44 percent, according
to federal data.

“We make a promise that students won’t lose any time whatsoever,” Conlon said.

Students at Ohio Northern University must visit the financial-aid office before changing majors
this year. Advisers don’t stop students from changing but ask them to consider whether doing so
will require more time or extra loans.

“If they’re going to change majors, we want them to do it with everything in perspective,” said
Melanie Weaver, the director of financial aid at Ohio Northern, a private university in Ada in
northwestern Ohio. “Some of our highest debt carriers were here longer than four years, and they
changed their majors along the way.”

The focus on changing majors is tied to a renewed push to increase the number of Ohio students
graduating in four years.

Ohio public colleges and universities now receive part of their state aid based on the number of
students who graduate, rather than on enrollment figures. The state is pressing schools to produce
more graduates to enter the workforce. And studies have found that students who stay in college
longer are less likely to graduate.

Among Ohio public colleges and universities, the top four-year graduation rate is 68 percent, at
Miami University, followed by 53 percent at Ohio State University, according to federal data. The
highest four-year graduation rates are at private schools with higher costs, such as Kenyon College
and Denison University.

Leaders of Ohio University, which has a four-year rate of 44 percent, are talking about hiring
more advisers solely to help freshmen choose careers sooner.

That planning will become more crucial under a new four-year cost guarantee at OU, leaders said.
Under the guarantee, students will pay a level rate for tuition and fees during their four years on
campus, but students who stay longer could be hit twice: They will likely have to pay for extra
semesters at a higher rate.

“We intend to do a lot more advising in the freshman year,” said Roderick J. McDavis, president
of the university. “All of the data that we can find indicates that when students come undecided,
that, unfortunately, those tend to be students who tend to take a little bit more than four
years."

Ohio State relies on academic advisers to let students know whether changing majors will add
costs. In most cases, they don’t worry unless students make a change after their sophomore year,
said Wayne Carlson, vice provost for undergraduate studies and dean of undergraduate education at
OSU.

But even when changes would lead to greater costs, advisers at OSU and other universities must
strike a balance, Carlson said.

“We kind of walk that fine line. We want you to complete in the minimum amount of time to do a
good job in your major, but we want to give you the flexibility to do what you want as a
person."